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Letter: Emma deserves our support

As a little girl in first grade 50 years ago in Florida, my class was on the playground when I needed to use the bathroom. My teacher sent me in and when I went to our Jack and Jill bathrooms between the classrooms, the girls’ bathroom was occupied.

Letter: Emma deserves our support

As a little girl in first grade 50 years ago in Florida, my class was on the playground when I needed to use the bathroom. My teacher sent me in and when I went to our Jack and Jill bathrooms between the classrooms, the girls’ bathroom was occupied. The boy’s was empty and open but because I was a girl, I was afraid to use it.

As a result, I wet my pants. They called my mother to bring clean underwear and as I stood on the sidewalk outside my classroom, my mother stripped

my soiled undies and put on the clean. All the while, I was watched by another girl standing outside the next classroom door. Suffice it to say, it was humiliating and upsetting and sticks with me to this day.

Emma, or for that matter any child, should never be put in such a humiliating situation.

Adults are responsible for these innocents. We denounce child abuse and neglect but sometimes fall short in protecting children in the first place.

This is an opportunity for all teachers, administrators and parents to take a stand and promise to always provide a safe and nurturing environment for all children in their personal life journey. As a society, we will all benefit.